Since 1996, the owner of Babybel, Fromageries Bel have had a trade mark registered for its prominent 3D round wax coating with the colour red for its cheese products. This month, the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) issued a ruling invalidating the trade mark covering the red coating for Babybel cheese products. This trade mark…

We all love a good pair of Vans as a staple item in our trainer collection don’t we?! Well, global shoe manufacturer Vans have issued proceedings against Primark in the US for allegedly copying the design of two of their most iconic skateboard trainers. The two designs are the Vans Old Skool trainers and the…

Lush Cosmetics has lost a trade mark battle after its opposition to a logo mark applied for by food manufacturer, Tasty Snacks was denied. Last week, the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) ruled that Tasty’s application for a red and gold mark, with the word ‘LUSH’ in white writing, for “snacks consisting of mixtures of…

Trying to make your brand stand out in the fashion industry can be rather difficult sometimes…even for the big boys including worldwide denim brand Levis. Levis Strauss & Co. are famously known for their pocketed little red, white or blue tab that bears the Levi’s name on it. Last week, Levis filed a new law…

The Court of Appeal upheld the High Court decision that Argos Systems Inc (ASI), a US company, had not infringed Argos Ltd (AUL) registered trade marks for displaying Google adverts for AUL on its website <www.argos.com>. AUL is a well-known UK based consumer retailer which owns trade marks for the word ARGOS and the domain…

Weetabix has lost a trade mark infringement battle with Sanitarium at New Zealand’s High Court last week. Sanitarium, a well-known cereal company based in New Zealand accused Weetabix of infringing its trade mark for Weet-Bix, which has been a well-recognised breakfast cereal in New Zealand for decades. It was found that a British store owner…

Musical phenomenon Ed Sheeran is being sued for allegedly copying parts of Marvin Gaye’s classic “Let’s Get It On” track on his hit single “Thinking Out Loud”. According to documents lodged in New York, Sheeran copies various aspects of the “melody, rhythms, harmonies, drums, bass line, backing chorus, tempo, syncopation and looping” of Gaye’s 1973…